NC leaders balk at federal carbon control plan
North Carolina has issued a draft plan to comply with federal carbon-control rules, but the plan falls short of federal requirements for state carbon-control plans.
That’s because North Carolina, along with 23 other states, has filed a lawsuit protesting Environmental Protection Agency rules that would restructure how energy is generated and consumed in the United States.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality — formerly known as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources — believes those rules are outside the authority the Clean Air Act grants. DEQ’s proposed rules only address its plan to make the state’s electricity generating units more effective.
“The proposed rule will have very little, if any, environmental benefit, and many of the provisions regarding carbon capture and storage are overstated,” said DEQ Secretary Donald van der Vaart of the disputed portion of the federal rules. “This rule will not achieve significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and relies on unproven technology that could be technically and economically impractical.”
Environmental groups, however, have decried the state’s plan as an ineffective document that is “designed to fail,” in the words of Gundrun Thompson, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center.
“It is disappointing to see the Department of Environmental Quality once again putting politics before pollution cleanup,” Thompson said, adding, “Instead of using the Clean Power Plan as a political football, DEQ should take advantage of the Clean Power Plan’s flexibility to design a plan that could continue boosting North Carolina’s clean energy economy.”
DEQ is working on a backup plan should the lawsuit be unsuccessful.
The carbon control plan is currently out for public comment. Email comments through Jan. 15 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
